Greene County mayors question sheriff's call on response cuts

Aug. 31, 2012

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BATTLEFIELD — Mayors across Greene County are questioning the sheriff’s plan to cut responses to non-life-threatening crimes within municipalities.

The cuts will help free up resources for the sheriff’s department, Sheriff Jim Arnott said. But town leaders are concerned about whether a sales tax increase passed in April will be effective and whether the sheriff’s department is reciprocating services the municipality departments provide.

“Our officers make almost as many calls in the county as the city,” Mayor Brenda Ellsworth of Ash Grove said at a meeting of the Greene County Mayors’ Association. “It doesn’t feel like reciprocation when our officers go into the county.”

The mayors’ association met in Battlefield City Hall on Thursday, bringing mayors or representatives from all municipalities together to discuss the cuts in enforcement, the only new business on the agenda. The sheriff’s department announced Thursday that deputies will not respond to calls that are priority three and above — or those that are non-life-threatening.

The cut in enforcement only affects municipalities with police departments. However, mayors said Thursday the smaller departments don’t all have the resources to cover every call around the clock.

Some questioned a 1/8-cent sales tax passed in April to provide funding for the sheriff’s department, including new officers. That tax, which will begin to be collected in October, will start flowing into county coffers in January.

“I guess I’m thrown back by the promises of the sales tax,” said Mayor Tom Keltner of Willard.

Arnott said he can’t hire new deputies until February, and even then, doesn’t know that he’ll have enough people to lift the new policy. He pointed out that he’s asked for funding for as many as 50 new deputies but only got enough to eventually fund 18 with the new tax. Arnott has promised to review the enforcement policy quarterly.

Most precincts with municipalities voted for the tax — with most having a margin of at least 10 percent in favor of support. Stafford’s precinct supported the measure 50.12 to 49.88 percent.

Keltner said the added enforcement “is going to be on the taxpayers of Willard’s dime.” He suggested sending Greene County a bill if the added enforcement becomes too excessive.

Changes to enforcement, which take effect Oct. 1, was first announced to local police chiefs on Aug. 8.

“If we had this information in April, we could have made some adjustments and this could have been a softer blow,” Smith said.

Battlefield Mayor Aaron Kruse said he felt like he was being told what to do by the changes in enforcement.